Animated christmas ornament



Oct 1956 E. A. GAMBLE ANIMATED CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT Filed Feb. 26, 1954 awn/ram ANIMATED CHRISTMAS QRNAMELQT Edward A. Gamble, Long Beach, Calif., assignor to Dan J. Furey, Long Beach, Calif.

Application February 26, 1954, Serial No. 412,741

2 Claims. (Cl. 46-123) This invention relates to an animated Christmas ornament which may include various figures, such as reindeer, Santa Claus and his sleigh, as well as other similar figures symbolic of the Christmas season.

An object of my invention is to mount various figures so that a single motivating device will simultaneously actuate and move the various figures to simulate an action, such as a galloping reindeer.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel animated Christmas ornament, in which a plurality of figures are simultaneously moved or animated by a single electrical motor or solenoid, the movement of the various figures being continuous as long as the motor is functioni-ng.

Another object is to provide a novel animated Christmas ornament of the character stated, which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and which provides a pleasing and interesting efiect.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description and the appended claims.

'In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my animated Christmas ornament.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a top plan View of the motivating unit of the ornament.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of a slightly modified form of mount for the various figures.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numetal .1 indicates a base which is preferably a heavy wire. The base 1 is supported at its forward end by suction cups or pedestals 22, which are attached to a bar 3 fixed to the base 1. At the rear end the base is similarly supported by pedestals 44 or suction cups attached to a plate 5, which in turn is secured to the base *1. A plurality of vertical posts 6 are fixedly attached to the base 1 or they may be an integral part thereof. These posts rise vertically and each post supports a figure 7, such as a reindeer. The figure is pivotally secured to the post by a trunnion or shaft 8, which extends through the ure and is attached to the post. The figures 7 are each mounted so that they each will normally return to one position and are moved to another position by rotating around the shaft 8, as will be further described. A post 9, adjacent the rear end of the base 1, supports a sleigh or the like 10, and the sleigh may be fixed to the post 9, or may also be pivotally mounted on a shaft 11, if desired.

To animate the various figures, I provide a bell crank 12 which is pivotally mounted on the riser '13 at the rear of the base :1. A wire or string 14 is attached to one arm of the bell crank 12 and extends forward and is attached to each of the objects 7. Thus, as the bell crank 12 is rotated on its pivot, the objects '7 will all Patent pivot on the shafts 8 to simulate galloping or some similar movement. If desired, a spring 15 may be attached to the front end of the cord or wire 14 for the purpose of returning all of the figures 7 to an original or starting position. 71" he bell crank 12 is continuously actuated by a solenoid motor or reciprocating motor 16. This motor is also mounted on the base il in an appropriate manner, and consists of a reciprocating armature 17 similar to a solenoid. This type of motor is usual and Well known in the art of animated advertising devices.

In Figure 4 l have shown a modified form of mounting for the various figures 18. A base '19, which may be formed of wire, is provided with spaced journals 20 thereon. The figures 18 are each mounted in a journal 20 and are thus freely rotatably mounted. The various figu-res 18 are reciprocated by a wire 21 which is attached to each of the levers 22. The levers 2-2, in turn, are secured to a shaft 23 which is secured to the figure 18 and extends through the journal 2!). The wire 21 is again reciprocated by appropriate movement of the bell crank 12, as previously described. The bell crank 12 may be actuated by means other than the motor I16. If the ornament is attached to an automobile the bell crank :12. may be connected to the windshield wiper, which again will impart a partial rotary movement to the bell crank to provide the necessary animation for the figures 7 and 18. The base .1 or 19 may be formed of some other structural shape than the wire here disclosed. However, a wire is conducive of simplicity of construction and also reduces the cost.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An animated Christmas ornament comprising an elongated base to accommodate a plurality of figures in tandem, a plurality of vertically arranged and spaced posts rising from the base, a figure pivotally mounted on each of the posts, a pivot being positioned to move the figure into one position by gravity, a single cord extending the length of the base and attached to each of the figures, a bell crank lever, means journaling the bell crank lever on said base, said cord being secured to one arm of the bell crank lever, and motive means attached to the other arm of the bell crank lever, said motive means reciprocating the bell crank lever and pulling the cord in one direction to move the figures in one direction against the force of gravity.

2. An anmiated Christmas ornament comprising an elongated base to accommodate a plurality of figures in tandem, a plurality of vertically arranged and spaced posts rising firom the base, a figure pivotally mounted on each of the posts, a pivot being positioned to move the figure into one position by gravity, a single cord extending the length of the base and attached to each of the figures, a bell crank lever, means journaling the bell crank lever on said base, said cord being secured to one arm of the bell crank lever, and a reciprocating motor oper-atively attached to the other arm of the bell crank lever to reciprocate said bell crank lever and pull the cord in one direction to move the figures in one direction against the force of gravity.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,068,147 Lovejoy July 22, 1913 1,121,371 Kastura Dec. '15, 1914 1,273,416 Selm July 23, 19:18 1,390,136 Kahl Sept. 6, 1921 1,506,126 Kuenz Aug. 26, 1924 2,389,606 'Borregard Nov. 27, 1945 

